LIVE LIVE LIVE from the MARINER with MERION MOM for 53 DAYS!!!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

THANKS!! that totaly clear things up for me now lol..

 

 

Your welcome.

 

I've been on CC for a few years now and if it wasn't for CC, there are some things I would have never learned!!

 

***

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks for the reports. It is fun sailing along.

 

Are the always available options of chicken and steak still available on the menus? If not, can you still ask for them?

 

Last couple of reports that have come back from ships didn't have the always available options on them.

 

They are still there; they just aren't listed separately. It's just one long list of entrees.

[Merion_Mom]

Wow...I just got finished reading all 16 pages(when I began, there was only 14 pages!) First of all, I am soooooooooo jealous!! When I was on the Liberty this summer, they were talking about this cruise at the C&A party. If only I were retired!! Of course I would also have to think of my dog and elderly parents.

In that order??? ;)

I don't think I could be away from them that long. Carol, what a small world about being seated with people from your area! I know the area well as my DD went to St. Joe's and still lives in Philly(Roxborough). Not to get off subject, but where does your DD go to grad school? Have a great cruise and I will be checking daily (maybe hourly) for updates and can't wait to see pics!! Have a Happy New Year!!!!!!!:D:D:D

I live practically within spitting distance of St. Joe's - 3/4 of a mile or so, as the crow flies!

 

My daughter is in grad school at the University of Reading in England. :)

[Merion_Mom]

i can i can!! i know how to say it..nah nah nah nah nah nah!

 

(ok, so i'm not THAT far from philly...and i think i ride THRU lower merion twp a couple weeks ago....well maybe a couple months ago!)

 

CAROL....hope you are still having fun...hopefully your "pals" at GR will stop with the eye rolls!:rolleyes:

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

 

Meg, they don't roll their eyes at *me*............at least not while I'm facing them!!!!! ;)

[Merion_Mom]

Merion Mom...I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying reading your post. It is almost like I am there with you (except that I still had to make my bed this morning, and make lunch and go grocery shopping).

 

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date!

 

Angela

 

NannaNannaBooBoo! :D

 

My only worry right now is that we won't get our room made up today..........daughter is still in bed with her friend.

 

"Hello, my name is Hangover, and I'll be your server today."

 

:rolleyes:

 

(more details about New Year's Eve on board the beautiful Mariner of the Seas in a moment)

[berman947]

One of the best things about a cruise....Yes, people come from all over the world to vacation, but you can always find people from home with you. :)

 

 

I work near the King of Prussia mall, so I know the area quite well! I am totally loving this thread!

[Merion_Mom]

Our family settled in Pennsburg, PA........not such a long way from where they landed.........in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania........in September of 1734!

 

Rick

 

If it is of any interest.......they were Schwenchfelders!

 

And Rick is related to a certain woman politician in Pennsylvania who ran for very high office a few years back!

[Merion_Mom]

Hi Carol......I know what you mean about that "gotta hold me down or I won't stay on" button on the hair dryer.:p

 

Here's a tip...........get a rubber band and put it around the handle close to the button (you can do this by slipping the rubber band up from the cord towards the hair dryer). Make sure it is a snug fit. When you want to turn the hair dryer on............just move the rubber band up and over the button and the work is done for you. When you want to turn the hair dryer off........move the rubber band down off the button.

 

Have a fantastic time.................and congratulations on the RFS!!!

 

Thanks, "mom", for the advice. :D :D :D

 

I know the work-arounds, and for a week, it's no big deal. But for seven weeks? It's worth $15 to get my own hairdryer in Florida, since I am not dealing with luggage at that point.

[Merion_Mom]

Carol, were you wearing your t-shirt ... you know, the one that says "Embarassing My Children; Just Another Service I Offer" ... at the time. It sounds like Lizzie would have been enjoying that "service," then! ;)

 

I wore it yesterday, Jamaica day, so she could hate me all day long :D :D :D

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks for the information Theron. I changed my settings. It's a pleasure not to have to change pages as often. You are really a wonderful source of information. I've also used your tip calculator.

 

 

 

I knew the name of the group Spectrum, but I couldn't place it until you mentioned Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. We've had a series subscription for many years and we got to see Spectrum when they performed with the Pops orchestra. You are so right about how great they are!

 

Happy New Year Carol. Have a drink for me. Love your live thread.

 

One of my few, er, several, er, many glasses of champagne last night was dedicated to YOU, Susan!

 

Cheers! ;)

[NorbertsNiece]

In that order??? ;)I live practically within spitting distance of St. Joe's - 3/4 of a mile or so, as the crow flies!

 

My daughter is in grad school at the University of Reading in England. :)

 

Oh my goodness!!! DD1 lives down the road from there!!! She once worked at a celebrations supplies store in the town.

[Merion_Mom]

Not trying to speak for Merion Mom, but I can perhaps shed some light. She booked 4 separate cruises, the last regular 7 night cruise from Port Canaveral, plus the 3 legs of the repositioning cruise from Florida to Los Angeles.

 

As we all know, cruises are a commodity, with prices going up and down based on supply and demand. These 3 legs are still not sold out, so prices have been relatively low, and these sailings have been on sale several times for even better prices.

 

Just now, I checked on-line and found this pricing for the three legs:

 

Port Canaveral to Rio de Janeiro
15 Nights       Interior        Oceanview       Balcony         Suite  
January 4       899 USD         1399 USD        1899 USD        2499 USD

Rio de Janeiro to Valparaiso, Chile
15 Nights       Interior        Oceanview       Balcony         Suite
January 19      1499 USD        1959 USD        2359 USD        3999 USD

Valparaiso, Chile to Los Angeles
16 Nights       Interior        Oceanview       Balcony         Suite
February 3      899 USD         1349 USD        1849 USD        3979 USD

 

That should give you a ballpark. All in all, the cruise fare doesn't seem all that bad for what you are getting. The cost and hassle associated with being away from home for a month and a half would seem to be significant for most folks as well.

 

Theron

 

And Theron is cutting and pasting basic info from the RC website.

 

This does not include:

 

Diamond balcony discounts

Senior discounts (not me - one of the other Divas of the Deep ;) :D)

Residency discounts

 

:)

[Merion_Mom]

MM is doing the cruise on Mariner before it sails from PC to LA around South America.......since it is too long and too wide to fit through the locks in the Panama Canal. Mariner is repositioning itself to the West Coast...........and there were three segments to book. Approximately 1200 people are doing all three segments.

 

Hey, Patti, I think that Captain Johnny may take exception to that description! ;)

[dirtgirl]

Dirtgirl:

 

You are lucky hubby still has hair:D

 

 

Yes, I guess I am!:D

[Merion_Mom]

We have the BEST table for dinner. SUCH great tablemates. We love them all.

 

Weird thing happened last night. My daughter noticed it first.

 

We sat down. (first at the table for only the second time this week)

 

On the table, as you know, is the table number holder with the waiter's name.

 

Our waiter is Yunus, from Turkey.

 

Last night, it said Edison.

 

HHHMMM.....said my daughter.

 

Then this person comes over, introduces himself as "Edison from Colombia, but you can call me Ed", and says that "an emergency" has taken Yunus away, and he will be our server for the rest of the trip.

 

No details, and the wording changed a couple of times as the others sat down, so I don't know what the real story is. Very puzzling. I hope that all is well with Yunus, and am just disappointed because I hadn't taken any pictures yet, and I was so pleased with his service that I was planning on giving him extra in the envelope on Saturday night. :(

 

Anyway, Edison is a very good waiter, so no complaints there. Assistant waiter was better last night; I'm not sure who lit a fire under him.

 

Raj arranged for me to trade in the Asti Spumante (blech! ick! retch!) for Korbel Brut, which I shared with the entire table.

 

New Year's Eve dinner was a special menu.

 

I had Scallop & Prawn something. It came in the escargot plate, and seemed to be prepared just that way, in garlic butter. YUM YUM YUM. There was one tiny bay scallop in each depression of the plate, and shreds of crab (not surimi, but not lump crabmeat) and the sauce was soaking-up-with-bread worthy.

 

Then strawberry bisque with "mango salsa" which was lots of diced (tiny) mango in the soup.

 

Salad was endive and artichoke hearts and grapefruit sections with champagne vinaigrette.

 

My main course was surf & turf - most of us had that. The filet/tenderloin was delicious and the garlic shrimip were yummy, too.

 

Dessert was ok, but nothing spectacular. But now that the kitchen knows that I like coffee ice cream..........out paraded Edison with three dishes. :D

 

The horn-blowing was long and loud. This crowd at second seating just sort of got into it, and there were about 10 minutes of uninterrupted cacophony.

 

(the table next to us kept ordering bottle after bottle of seriously expensive champagne.........I considered introducing myself as a long-lost cousin..............)

 

Waiters sang and paraded. (again)

 

This was second formal night, since it was New Year's Eve. Now we will have three casual nights in a row to finish the cruise.

[TPKeller]

Also of interest (or not, LOL) is that Mariner will run on electric power from shore while she's in port. The streets near the port have been torn up for a few months as they put that capacity in place. They'll just have to remember to unplug her before they sail away!

All part of the effort to reduce air pollution in Southern California. When I was on Vision last year (oops, I guess technically it was year before last now...), they told us that they had to switch to a special low-sulfur fuel when they got to within a certain distance of the port. I expect this will be the same for Mariner as well.

 

Theron

[Merion_Mom]

There were parties all over the ship.

 

Most people ended up on the Royal Promenade anyway. We got there around 11:10, and it was already packed.

 

(oh, we stopped into the casino and I actually came out ahead for a change!)

 

We finagled our way to a good spot. What can I say? I am short and powerful - I can slip into small spots and wriggle my way through crowds.

 

Some people had been sitting at the tables at the Wig & Gavel for two hours, just to "save" their good spots. I did just fine getting there when we did.

 

So, we were leaning up against the counter at the Ben & Jerry's, very near the bridge across the Royal Promenade where the Captain and CD and senior staff come out for the final countdown.

 

Lo and behold, what is right next to us? Giant tables with hundreds and hundreds of champagne glasses, which the servers are filling with Jean Dorsene champagne.

 

We immediately made friends with the nice people standing around us, including a delightful, friendly, TALL and outgoing man who simply reached over to the table and started passing us filled glasses (with the blessing of the RC servers), at about 11:30. We drank steadily for the last half hour of 2008.

 

Randomly, I would yell out, "13 and a half minutes"!!! and everyone would cheer. They had the countdown up on a giant screen for the final hour or so - I can't tell you exactly what time they started it, but it was running when we got there. It was as much fun counting down random times as when we got to the final minutes.

 

Abe came out on the bridge with his LOVELY new fianceé (he proposed on this trip! (I think)), then the Captain and other officers and personnel.

 

Final countdown................everyone goes crazy. Balloon drop. Confetti flying. People screaming. Everyone toasting and clinking glasses. Most of the champagne staying in the glasses.

 

Then people began to float away to other parties. We decided not to go up on the pool deck, because we heard that it was VERY windy. Liz was already feeling the effects. Well, she had already started with a Cosmo (or 2?) at the casino bar before the Royal Promenade festivities. We went back to the casino, and I won a little more!

 

Then we went to the Wig & Gavel, and it was WILD. This was mostly a younger crowd. (20 somethings), with some old guys. There was also a table of CHILDREN, and we are talking about heavy drinking, *bad* behavior, and 1:30 in the morning!

 

No, parenting does not require a license.

 

Mark B was great, and he pulled no punches just because someone decided to let his kiddies into the bar. He led songs with lots of "bad language", and everyone bellowed out the lyrics with gusto!

 

The floor was awash in god-knows-what - champagne & beer, I suspect. He went on way longer than his assigned time, but was great about "just one more song".

 

I chatted with him after he FINALLY said "this is it, guys". Despite what RC sent me in an email two or three weeks ago, Mark is staying on for the whole Round The Horn cruise.

 

Boy, is he ever going to find this a different crowd!!! ;) :D

[Ula]

All part of the effort to reduce air pollution in Southern California. When I was on Vision last year (oops, I guess technically it was year before last now...), they told us that they had to switch to a special low-sulfur fuel when they got to within a certain distance of the port. I expect this will be the same for Mariner as well.

 

Theron

This is something that the cruise lines have been excited about for a while. Although, I keep picturing docking and seeing an orange extension cord tossed over the side.

[wrp96]

I wore it yesterday, Jamaica day, so she could hate me all day long :D :D :D

 

 

Carol if you want to have fun you can wear it around me in May!!;)

[Lynn the Cruiser]

In that order??? ;)I live practically within spitting distance of St. Joe's - 3/4 of a mile or so, as the crow flies!

 

My daughter is in grad school at the University of Reading in England. :)

A big WOW to the DD's grad school. My DD went to Jefferson and her DH went to PCOM. Both are working at Lankenau (I bet you know where that is). They love Philly except one bad thing just happened while my DD was visiting me and her DH was working a 36 hour shift...their house was robbed. Nothing was trashed but they took the new biog screen TV, laptop and playstation. Missed the money that was laying out on the table, the new GPS and other Christmas presents. I guess it could happen anywhere, not just in Philly.

[Merion_Mom]

A big WOW to the DD's grad school. My DD went to Jefferson and her DH went to PCOM. Both are working at Lankenau (I bet you know where that is). They love Philly except one bad thing just happened while my DD was visiting me and her DH was working a 36 hour shift...their house was robbed. Nothing was trashed but they took the new biog screen TV, laptop and playstation. Missed the money that was laying out on the table, the new GPS and other Christmas presents. I guess it could happen anywhere, not just in Philly.

 

I am so sorry to hear about their unfortunate break-in! At least no one was hurt.

 

My kids were both born at Lankenau. :)

[Lynn the Cruiser]

It took me a while to catch up on all the pages again. I'm going to have to check every few hours or so , so I don't miss anything. New Year's Eve sounded like so much fun. I've never been on a cruise over a holiday except the fourth of July and that's not so big!!

[Merion_Mom]

It is just very strange not having a sea day today.

 

Of course, my daughter has *made* it a sea day for us..........she is still abed, trying to regain her "bearings". :rolleyes:

 

It's a shame - I really like Grand Cayman, and had planned to show her the island, since she had always gone scuba diving when we've been here. She wanted to go to Hell, the Turtle Farm, and swimming with the stingrays. Oh well - another excuse to book another cruise! ;)

[Lynn the Cruiser]

I am so sorry to hear about their unfortunate break-in! At least no one was hurt.

 

My kids were both born at Lankenau. :)

That's what I said, too. Things can be replaced and they already did get a new computer.(can't live without that). They have other TV's. You kind of feel so violated knowing that a stranger was walking around your house. They are looking into getting a dog because her DH often works nights.

 

I am so envious of your cruise. I get all excited when I go on a 10 day as opposed to an 8 day!!! LOL I hope to retire in 2 1/2 years so that will open up my cruising options. I'm a teacher so I can really only cruise in the summer. That leaves out a Southern, which I really want to do. The rest of my cruising friends can get vacations whenever. So it's my schedule that is holding everyone back.

[wrp96]

Oh well - another excuse to book another cruise! ;)

 

How terrible of her to do that to you Carol!!;):p:D

 

Glad you and your daughter are having a great time together.